Citizenship

 My mom is a Canadian citizen now!  It only took her thirty years to succumb to this wonderful country.  She is a very proud new Canadian.  She flew the Canadian flag in front of her house(without the American one), wore the Canadian colours, and had a bouquet of Canadian flags in her living room.  I use the past tense because my children swiped the flags and took them home.  Kian carried his around for the rest of the evening.  To celebrate her embrace of the light, my dad threw her a special party inviting close friends and family.  Not everyone came, but it was still a great time.  One of the best parts was when Steve took pictures of all of those who had become Canadians.  Out of our gathering of about 15, there were five with their citizenship cards.  It was a very special moment seeing my mom, Steve's dad, a good friend and neighbour and then a pastor couple all with their cards out.

 I recognize that my country is far from perfect, but I still think Canada is one of the best places to live in the world.  I'm proud to the child of an immigrant and also proud to be a child of a born Canadian.  And I'm so thankful for my friends who shared in our joy today.  Pulled pork, watermelon and cake are great party foods!  So congrats to my mom on becoming Canadian and congrats to my dad for throwing a great party!